July 31, 2018

The Five Themes of Geography -- ----Toronto and Montreal

----Toronto and Montreal

Ruihan Sun K00751001

I studied in Toronto for about two years in high school. Also, I visited Montreal in holiday several times with my friends. The two cities impressed me deeply. So, I ‘d like to introduce and compare these two cities using the Five Themes of Geography.

Toronto and Montreal are both modernized cities in south of Canada. As the biggest and the second biggest city in Canada, Toronto and Montreal have lots of similarity characters. When talking about famous cities in Canada, people always mention these two developed cities. But, on the other hand, the two cities have big difference in their culture, life style, resource, architecture, and even languages.

1. Location

Toronto’s latitude is 43°40′N, longitude 79°25′W. It is located in the South of Ontario and on the northwestern shore of Ontario Lake, covering an area of 630 square kilometers. “The city stretches from west to east about 43 kilometers. It borders on Etobicoke just outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on the west, and runs along the Rouge Riveron the east.” (Totally Toronto) The famous Niagara Falls is only 75 miles away from Toronto.

The center of Montreal is located in latitude 35 ° 07 'N, longitude 94 ° 21 'W, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the St. Lawrence River in Quebec province. It is on the south of Canada and southwest of Quebec with an area of 365 square kilometers, which is the second largest city in Canada. The area of Montreal is slightly less than Toronto, and it is about 539 km from Toronto, Ontario's capital.

Montreal is located in the north of Toronto, which is one reason for its colder weather.

2. Place

Toronto, which is the capital of the province of Ontario, is the largest city in Canada. “In the 2011 measurements, the city had a population number of 2,615,060, making it the fifth greatest city in North America.” (Canada Population 2018)

Toronto, which located on the northwest coast of Ontario Lake, has abundant water resources.” Many Rivers either border or cross Toronto, including the Rouge River, Humber River, and Rouge River. Some interesting Features of Toronto’s Geography includes the Toronto Islands port lands, which create what is called the Toronto Harbor.” (Toronto’s Geography Features) And this character makes up the larger Waterfront area. Also, Niagara Falls, one of the world's three largest waterfalls, is located on the Niagara river in northeastern Canada.

Also, In Toronto, 7.5% area is covered with trees. It has almost all the species of trees in North America, especially maple trees. Toronto has diverse metal minerals such as copper, nickel, gold, silver, platinum, cobalt, zinc and diamonds, as well as non-metallic minerals such as salt, gypsum, lime, sandstone and gravel.

Toronto‘s climate is belongs to humid continental type. It has four distinct seasons. Spring is short; summer is hot and humid; autumn is mostly sunny with pleasant temperature. From spring to autumn, the temperature varies from 15 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius. Winter is cold. Sometimes, it’s temperature reach to -10 degrees Celsius or even lower in winter, and is extended until mid-April. But even though, Toronto is one of the warmer cities in Canada.

Toronto is one of the most multi-ethnic cities in the world, with residents from more than 100 ethnic groups. Toronto has china towns, Italian districts, as well as Greek streets, Indian cities, Korean cities and Jewish markets, and so on. Toronto is a dynamic city, with the largest number of immigrants living and working in it. The Chinese population here is the highest all over the country. “Torontonians collectively speak over 140 languages. In fact, one in three speaks a third language (not English or French) at home.”(National Geographic)

Montreal located at the significant position of five great lakes of the Atlantic seaway, and its unique location has contributed to its advanced maritime transport. And the St. Lawrence River Waterway across Montreal is 3,769-kilometer long, reaching the Great Lakes from the Atlantic Ocean which also lead to Montreal’s developed ocean shipping.

To the north of Montreal's St. Lawrence river are mountains and highlands, to the east of the city is the Gaspe Peninsula ,to the west is the St Lawrence Lowlands; and to the west, Montreal has two high peaks, the Mont D’lberville Mount at 1,622 meters and the Jacques Cartier Mount at 1,268 meters.

Montreal is rich in land with plenty of forest resources. Maple is also the major breed of trees in Montreal, due to the production of maple sugar; Maple becomes the logo of Montreal and Quebec Province. Montreal has few animal resources, with only salmon, hedgehogs, foxes and Canadian wild geese which are common in North America. Montreal's mineral resources include iron ore, gold, nickel, copper and gravel.

Montreal is at the junction of several climatic zones, so the weather is varied and the seasons are clear. The rainfall here is very rich in Montreal, with an average annual rainfall of 897mm.

As the second largest city in Canada, and the largest city in Quebec, Montreal has 4.1 million residents which come from almost all over the world such as France, Greek, Asia, America, and Iris and so on. The majority of Montreal's urban population speaks French or English, with 67.8 percent of Montreal's population of French, 18.4 percent of British and French speakers and 13.8 percent of English speakers. . It is a typical English-French bilingual city. Because of the city's gothic churches and the majority of French residents, it reflects the unique French cultural heritage and is considered as the "romantic capital" of North America.

Because Toronto is nearby Montreal, their natural resources of the two cities are similar. They both have abundant water resources and are famous for maple trees. However, the climate is quite different because of climate zone. The winter in Montreal is much colder than Toronto. ‘Montreal is farther north, so it gets much colder in the winter than Toronto. Toronto’s winter weather is seasonable and quite similar to that of the New England area in the United States. It doesn’t become a land of frozen tundra when the cold months come like Montreal.’(Cities Journal)

Regarding language, Toronto still use English as official language, but since the majority of Montreal’s population is European and people from North America, with make itself a typical English-French bilingual city.

According statistics Portal in 2017, Toronto births number is 67248, which is the top 1 city, and Montreal is 43319, which is the second class in Canada. The metropolitan area of these two cities constitutes major part of birth number in Canada. And for deaths number, Toronto is 34927, and Montreal is 28353, still, be the top 1 and top 2 in Canada. Obviously, the births number is higher than deaths number, so the population in these two cities is increasing every year.

3. Human-Environment Interaction

In Toronto, the fertile soil of the southern st. Lawrence valley becomes agriculture and stocking farmer center. Also, there are important vegetable and fruit production bases and wineries between Lake Clare and Lake Erie, as well as Niagara peninsula.

It is well known that Torontonians are very kind to animals. In Toronto, The Toronto Humane society is the most famous shelter for animals. It is a common scenario to see raccoons, squirrels walking in the street and in your home in Toronto. That may be the reason that Toronto has diverse and large amount of animals.

On the other hand, the air and water pollution in Toronto are deteriorating due to the largest population and the highly developed urban infrastructures in Canada.

According to 2017 Annual surface Water quality summary, chloride concentration is the highest in areas of each watershed which known to be urbanized. This observation has been supported in the literature and can also be specifically related to the Toronto region.

Now, people have been taken positive steps to reduce pollution. But according to Toronto Public Health’s report, the levels of major pollutants in the air have become stagnant after years of decline, and air pollution is still a serious cause of illness in the city.( PETER GOFFIN)

Montreal has rich land and abundant forest resources. Maple trees are the most abundant trees in Montreal. Due to the production of maple leaf sugar, maple tree is the symbol of Montreal and Quebec. Montreal is dedicating in urban agriculture entrepreneurs. It is

“Montreal has been rated the second worst city in Canada in regard to air quality according to a September 26 World Health Organization (WHO) assessment. Montreal is ranked only behind the industrial town of Sarnia, Ontario.”(Mcgill Daily) The pollution may due to the industry and population in this area. But now, people are also pay more attention on it. Dozens of monitoring institute are generated for protecting environment here.

In summary, despite the higher population, Toronto’s environment protection is better than Montreal. We hope in the future, the two cities are all have clean and beautiful environment.

4. Movement

Toronto has three airports. Toronto Pearson International Airport is the busiest and largest airport in Canada. Billy Bishop Toronto City Center Airport is support short-haul regional flights; Hamilton International Airport is handled by WestJet and CanJet.

Toronto has a great road transposition. The roads are kept in smooth condition all year around. There are several provincial highways running through the city of Toronto. Provincial highway 401 is the busiest highway in Canada and one of the busiest in the world.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is Toronto’s subway system, which is the main transposition system in Toronto. The subway routes include downtown core, making everything easily accessible for the public.

The name of Toronto means channel of water that flowed through Lake Simcoe. The port of Toronto is located in the northwest coast of Ontario, with a maximum draft of 8.23 meters.

Montreal is also a transportation hub for Quebec, with air, road and rail links to the rest of Canada, as well as all around the world. Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport is located in Dover, about 20 kilometers from the center of Montreal. It is the third large airport in Canada with fights to Asia, Europe, America and all around the world. And another airport in Montreal is Montréal-Mirabel International Airport, which is an industrial airport, providing a full range of cargo services

Quebec's highways, which span more than 165, 000 kilometers, run parallel to the St. Lawrence river and form a net that links the highways of Ontario and the and Quebec. So Montreal is connected to all the major economic centers in Canada and it is only a 45-minute drive from the U.S. border.

As one of the most frequently used inland ports in the world, the port of Montreal is also one of the most important commercial port for trans-atlantic transportation in eastern Canada. The port is roughly near where the mid- St. Lawrence River meets the Montreal river.

The subway and bus system of Montreal and Toronto are similar with cross-linked lines, and people can take the same subway or bus to your destination unlimited times within 2 hours. But as a one of the oldest cities in Canada, the road of Montreal is not as flat as Toronto. ‘Montreal, on the other hand, is notorious for having large potholes on almost every street that never seem to get filled in, and constant road construction makes driving anywhere a hassle in the warmer months.’ (City Journal) Montreal is more famous for advanced water transport, but the good and smooth condition of roads in Toronto leads to better organization of inland traffic.

5. Region

As the economic center of Canada, Toronto is a world-class city and one of the largest financial centers in the world, with a leading position in finance, business services, telecommunications, aerospace, transportation, media, art, film, television production, publishing, software, pharmaceutical research, education, tourism and sports. Toronto, as a developed area, its unique geographical conditions and history make it a significant position around the world.

The automobile, electronics, finance and tourism industries play an important role in Toronto's economy. Canada's largest car manufacturer is located in Toronto. Its high-tech products account for 60% of the country's total.

At the same time, Toronto is one of the safest, richest cities in the world with high living standards. Also, Toronto's public health care system is open to all eligible citizens through the public.

Toronto has many famous universities, like Toronto University, York University and so on. Students all over the world study here.

Montreal uses Quebec's unique education system: six years of primary school, five years of secondary school, two years of preparatory college, three or four years of university. The first-rate public school system offers for free, with high-quality education in English and French at the primary and secondary levels. Students in Montreal's are eligible for Canada's cheapest tuition for higher education and are free to choose from 11 world-class universities, including four internationally renowned ones such as McGill University and University of Montréal.

Montreal is a prosperous international metropolis. Its unique culture, beautiful city scenery and relaxed lifestyle have been rated as one of the most suitable cities for human habitation in the world. Montreal's traditional industry is crucial to the subsistence economy, with thousands of factory of enterprises, clothing, tobacco, food, and wood. Other industries, such as steel, rolling stock, machinery, chemistry, aircraft and electrical appliances, are also advanced and developed. Also, Montreal is known as a ‘city of designers’. “Montréal is definitely a “city of designers”: Over 25,000 professionals work in this lively field that is responsible for 34% of the overall economic impact of the cultural sector.”(UNESCO)

Toronto, as one of the most multi-cultural cities in the world, has more complicated culture environment than Montreal. With residents from all around the world, people in Toronto are fond to adapt new culture.

Toronto has the highest concentration of information services companies in Canada. For the mainstay industries, it is famous for automobile assembly and component manufacturing. However, the subsistence economy of Montreal is industry. There are thousands of factory in Montreal. Unlike Toronto, which has a booming economy, Montreal has a poverty problem. "The Canadian Council on Social Development says Montreal's poverty rate was 41%, the highest among the large Canadian cities.”(CBC NEWS)

Reference

Totally Toronto

https://www.totallytoronto.com/about-toronto/geography/

Why Not Toronto: Toronto's Geographical Features

https://whynottoronto.weebly.com/geographical-features.html

Toronto -> Map, visitacity

https://www.visitacity.com/en/toronto/attractions-map?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Toronto%20Map%20G3&utm_term=tourist%20map%20toronto&utm_content=Map

Cities Journal: TOP 21 REASONS TORONTO IS BETTER THAN MONTREAL

http://www.citiesjournal.com/top-13-reasons-toronto-is-better-than-montreal/

The Star: Despite gains, Toronto’s air pollution still causing serious health problems, PETER GOFFIN, GTA

Fri., March 10, 2017

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2017/03/10/despite-gains-torontos-air-pollution-still-causing-serious-health-problems.html